This invention relates to a process for the preparation of a mixture of ethylene and butene-1.
It is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,133,944, dated 1-9-79 (Col. 5 and 6) that ethylene copolymers can be prepared using a mixture of ethylene and butene-1 wherein the mixture is prepared in the polymerization reactor or in a separate dimerization stage before the polymerization reactor.
The selective dimerization of ethylene to butene-1 is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,245,131 dated 1-13-81. The production of a mixture of ethylene, and higher alpha olefins using a coil reactor is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,721,719, dated 3-20-73. However, the instant process is selective for the production of butene-1 and gives a higher butene-1 to trialkyl aluminum ratio, i.e., more weight of product per unit weight of catalyst.